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Capital & Regional owns shopping centres in Edinburgh, Hemel Hempstead, Ilford, Maidstone, Walthamstow and Wood Green. Picture: REUTERS/MARK MAKELA
Capital & Regional owns shopping centres in Edinburgh, Hemel Hempstead, Ilford, Maidstone, Walthamstow and Wood Green. Picture: REUTERS/MARK MAKELA

Capital & Regional has asked again the UK’s Panel on Takeovers & Mergers to extend the deadline for NewRiver real estate investment trust (Reit) to make an offer for the UK shopping centre owner.

The takeover panel had consented to an extension to allow the discussions with NewRiver to continue, Capital & Regional said in a statement on Thursday.

NewRiver is now required by not later than 5pm (UK time) on September 26 to make an offer.

There can be no certainty that any firm offer would be made for the company, nor as to the terms on which any offer would be made, Capital & regional said.

On May 23, Capital & Regional confirmed that its majority shareholder, Growthpoint Properties, had received a preliminary expression of interest from NewRiver Reit in relation to a possible offer in cash and shares for Capital & Regional’s entire issued capital.

The first deadline that NewRiver was required to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Capital & Regional or announce that it did not intend to make an offer was June 20. This was followed by three further extensions — the latest of which was September 12.

In May Business Day reported that Vukile Property Fund had opted not to make an offer to take control of Capital & Regional.

Capital & Regional had received a nonbinding indicative proposal on April 19 from Vukile regarding a possible cash and share offer.

Vukile said it had engaged with Capital & Regional’s largest shareholder, Growthpoint, “to evaluate the potential terms and structure of a possible offer”

However, Vukile “has not been able to reach agreement with Growthpoint as to the terms and structure of any possible offer and therefore confirms that it does not intend to make an offer”, the company said.

Growthpoint controls about 68.1% of Capital & Regional, which owns shopping centres in Edinburgh, Hemel Hempstead, Ilford, Maidstone, Walthamstow and Wood Green.

mackenziej@arena.africa

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